For the Good of the World
by Tricks
Summary: Was the path to selfsacrifice enough? Did the world even care?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer here.

--

He really didn't want to leave everyone behind, but it was necessary. He only had half a heart! What good was he like this?

--

"I've thought about it. I've decided," she had said, "that the Organization will create havoc on the world. They must be stopped. As it is, Sora cannot stop them alone; his friends can't, either. You're half of him, Roxas, remember that. If you go to him, the world will be a better place."

But what did he care for the world?

"You won't disappear." she continued on. "Instead, you'll be whole again. The strength of you and Sora will combine and be something incredibly formidable against the Organization. They no longer will be unstoppable, and you'll no longer be empty."

"I'll forget you guys," the blonde countered darkly.

"You won't forget us, Roxas; instead, you'll remember us. We'll all meet again, someday, so don't worry. It's for the best."

Roxas slammed his palms on the table and stood up, quivering with rage.

"You're only saying it's for the best because I was never supposed to exist!"

"Roxas, please don't-"

And he left.

He had teleported to Sunset Terrace and strolled around to cool off his temper. Roxas simply couldn't understand why it had to be this way, and still was barely grasping the facts Namine had given him. His feet stopped on the platform where the train would leave shortly. The train looked intensely repulsive.

"Train leaving for Twilight Town!" A man hollered. Roxas stepped aboard, and the doors shut behind him. Inside the locomotive car, he was the only one and had no difficulty finding a seat. He sank into the nearest, crossed his arms, and brooded the entire ride back to Twilight Town.

--

While Namine had said that he would be whole again, that he wouldn't forget them all, that he would meet them all again, he doubted her. Everything pointed out that he was alone and would always be alone. Roxas just wasn't like all the others, and never would be.

He hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face in them. "I won't forget them, maybe, but they'll forget me for sure," he thought. The jump off the station tower looked tremendously inviting, suddenly.

"Got room for one more?"

Startled, Roxas lifted his head to determine the source of the voice.

"Axel," he breathed out. His best friend wouldn't take this any better than he would; worse, if possible.

"I hear you're leaving us," the man continued. "You were going to leave us all, and without a word."

"Yeah." He had no defense. "I spoke with Namine," he paused, swallowing his fear. "about being whole."

"Yeah, I can imagine it's hard having only half a heart," the red-head uttered, lowering himself down to sit.

Was that supposed to mean something?

"Roxas," The Flurry called softly, catching the blonde's attention.

"Do you... Do you really have to go? I know how it is to be lonely, you didn't forget that did you?"

"Of course not, but I have to do this."

"Oh, well I know..."

"But," Roxas added, "she said that I wouldn't forget. She says we'll all meet again." He paused, then continued, "I don't know, but, I'd like a home."

"Huh? But aren't you happy here with us?"

"Well yeah, but it's not home. When I'm whole, then I'll be home."

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

Unsure of what to say next, Axel produced two Sea Salt Ice cream bars and handed one to Roxas. Although he was surprised, the blonde took the treat and began to nibble on it with his best friend.

"So," Axel began, breaking the small silence they had, "do you think this other person will really let you come back?"

"Maybe. You'll be the first person I'll visit, if I can. We could meet right here, where we're sitting."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Axel, I'm going to miss you and the Organization... a whole lot."

"And are you telling me who you're leaving us for?"

"Yeah. It's the Keyblade Master, Sora."

"Ah, that guy." In the corner of his eye Roxas saw his friend viciously bite off a corner of the ice cream.

"He had better take good care of you and let you visit."

For a long while the two of them sat in silence, enjoying each other's company while it would last.

At last, The Key of Destiny felt the tingling surge go through his body and he knew it was time. Thoughts raced through his head. What would he say? How could he leave like this? It was too soon – he wasn't ready! The light wasn't waiting, though; it wrapped around the two and began to pull at Roxas.

"You have to let go. It's time," it said.

He wanted so badly to cry.

"Axel, I love you," he stated, his most heartfelt smile on his face.

The blonde thought at first his best friend wouldn't respond, but he saw the tears in Axel's eyes and understood that the man was choking up.

"Roxas, I love you too."

And he was gone.

--

Even without Sora, he suddenly felt complete.


	2. Distinguishing

Disclaimer here.

_--_

"_ROXAS!"_

"_ROXAS!"_

"_Listen to me!"_

"_Don't listen to him!"_

"_ROXAS!"_

"_ROXAS!"_

"_Don't let him get you!"_

"_Come here!"_

"_ROXAS!"_

"_ROXAS!"_

"_I need you!"_

"_I love you!"_

The voices were decidedly overwhelming, and his head pulsed from seemingly just the soundwaves.

"Stop shouting, I'm right here! I can here you!" he found himself saying, but he couldn't hear anything but the others. Which one was he supposed to listen to? They both were unfamiliar, demanding, and obnoxiously frightening. Yet one entranced him; he found himself focusing on that particular voice, and he wanted to follow it... but he was too scared.

Abruptly he was alone, hovering in the heart of an abyss. The darkness swallowed him whole and almost seemed to rumble with a silent laugh to celebrate its success. For a moment, he remained frozen and stared blankly ahead. It appeared utterly hopeless; but, he found, that his eyes were only adjusting to the new silent atmosphere. In the distance, a light flickered faintly, seeming to motion him over. He was unsure if he was on his feet, but he tested the waters so to speak. He wiggled his toes and found that he could still feel, and attempted to step forward. There was nothing under his feet, but he didn't appear to be falling.

So, he continued.

"Who's there?"

Startled, he stumbled over... something... and fell on his face. Again, he felt nothing, but there was something there for sure. This was all so bizarre! And yet, it seemed real all the same. Was it? Was this just a dream?

"I'm Roxas," he uttered, feeling awkward. Picking himself off his feet, he dusted himself off and began to walk again. His footsteps were increasingly hesitant as he noticed that he didn't seem to be closing any distance to that light.

Where was this? This wasn't Twilight Town...

"Do you know who I am?" questioned the anonymous voice, and Roxas shook his head despite the dark. It couldn't hurt to take a guess, though.

"Are you... Sora?"

"I think so, if you're really Roxas."

"How do I tell?"

What kind of a question was that? He knew who he was, or, so he thought he did. Sora was him, too, according to Namine. Maybe he didn't know himself after all.

"Follow your heart, of course!"

"But I only have half a heart!"

"Then I guess you'll have to – "

A quake interrupted the voice that belonged to Sora. This was something Roxas actually felt, and he knew for sure that he was falling this time. A chill wound through the entire insides of his body, and he froze again.

I don't want to fall, he thought, I'm not ready!

He did not fall onto the ground; instead, he felt himself plunging into the icy depths of what was unmistakably water. He gasped for air like a fish and threw his arms around in an effort to reach the surface. When he opened his eyes, he realized there was no surface, and that he was on the ground of a beach.

What was that?

The moon gazed down at him indifferently, and he stared at it blankly as he fought to catch his breath. Something didn't feel quite right. Cautiously, he crawled over to the water and peered at his reflection.

Woah!

"No way! I'm someone else!"

Brunette hair, dumb face, blue eyes... this was Sora, wasn't it? Still in a phase of awe, he patted himself in various areas, testing to see if he could slap himself into consciousness. No, he was Sora for sure. Did this mean he was finally whole? There was no other possible conclusion! He had to be!

Distracted by the uniting of his heart, Roxas clapped his hands together and got to his feet.

"This is great!"

"What's great?"

Who was there?

He turned and started questioningly into the chest of a black raincoat. Slowly, Roxas raised his head and met the amber eyes of VII.

His mouth moved to scream, but something was clamped around his throat so suddenly, that he couldn't. Searing pain flashed through his mind, and his last conscious thoughts strove to curse the Organization.

--

"Roxas! Roxas, can you hear me? I think he's gone. Now look what you've done!"

Someone was yelling loudly, and it hurt his head. He already had a migraine, now what was this about?

"I did nothing to him."

"He's got cuts on his neck!"

"Who's to say he didn't do it on his own?"

"Roxas would never do that! You're the sadist, Saix; am I not supposed to suspect you?!"

"You do what you like. If my presence irritates you so greatly, I will take my leave."

"Then GO!"

Then it was silent.

Thoroughly scared, he remained still for a moment, then fumbled for something to grab onto and attempted to pull himself up. His initial grab resulted in what resembled a rather pained yelp, and he let go out of shock. He thought he had been alone. Reluctantly, Roxas opened his eyes.

He found himself leaned back against someone, but he wasn't sure who it was. Why was he turned away from them? Was it this person he had grabbed onto – was it even a person in the first place? Why was there a rock in front of him?

As he made a move to twist around, he noticed that there was an arm wrapped snugly around his waist. It was almost uncomfortable, but the way it was positioned put him at ease, somehow.

There was only one person that knew how to hold him just right.

"Axel?" he called carefully. Maybe it was just his imagination. He didn't want his hopes getting too high.

"Yes?"

"Are you going to let go?"

Roxas was still uncertain. He had left Axel in Twilight Town. He thought he was going to Sora. Well, really, he didn't know what he thought was going to happen; all he knew was that he was being separated from everyone. So where was he now?

"Do you want me to?"

"Not yet." I'm not ready, he was thinking to himself. He never had been. Roxas found himself wondering what Axel would say concerning the last words exchanged before his departure. Would he say anything at all? Knowing him, Axel wouldn't bring it up unless absolutely necessary.

"Axel?"

"Yes?"

"Are you angry at me?"

"Only if you're angry at me."

The response took him aback. What was that supposed to mean? Why would Axel be angry at him?

"Axel?"

"Yes?"

"Am I still Sora?"

"Are you still WHAT?"

The body behind him shifted slightly, but the grip around his waist never loosened. Perhaps he shouldn't have said it, but he trusted Axel.

"Is there anyone else around?" But not anyone else.

"No, it's just you and me."

Roxas relaxed and closed his eyes.

"Well, after I left, I don't know what happened. I heard all these voices. I thought I might have heard you, but it was too noisy. I couldn't tell. After that, I was in the middle of nowhere. I saw this light, and I went to get to it, but I never got there. Along the way, I thought I spoke to Sora. It sounds dumb, but I asked him how do I tell if I'm, well, me. And he said to follow my heart. Seeing as I have only half a heart, I wasn't sure how to do this... so I asked him. He was going to answer me, but something cut us off. I woke up here, and I swore I was him; at least, I saw myself as him in the water."

"Roxas?"

"Hm?"

"You know the water shows your true persona. That's why the rest of us don't have reflections – or clear reflections- if you hadn't noticed."

"Oh... but I felt – I thought—"

"I'm not doubting what you said, but I just thought you might want to know."

"Thanks. I still don't know why I'm here again, though."

"I'm more interested in how you left."

"What do you mean?"

"When you disappeared, it started raining. It hasn't stopped since. I got tired of it, so I came here, and I found you sprawled out in front of Saix." The tone of his voice implied something else, but Roxas didn't want to interrupt. "But why did it rain?"

"I don't know."

"Anyways, I've been hearing your voice everywhere. It's been driving me nuts. I started following it after you left. And, well, here I am."

"Axel?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love me?"

He was expecting a simple "yes". Before he left, they had both admitted that. Instead, there was a bout of silence that grew uncomfortable. He was being shifted around again. He wanted to know what was going on, but he didn't dare open his eyes, or resist. The arm never left his waist, but he felt something pressed up against his chest now. If his imagination wasn't playing tricks on him, Roxas thought for sure that he could feel Axel's hair against his cheek. He hadn't stopped moving, it was only slower.

He was sitting up now, he was sure of it. Cautiously, he moved his hands, and found they made contact with something. A rock? He didn't have the guts to open his eyes yet, and was left wondering what exactly it was he touched.

"Axel?"

When he received no response, Roxas began to feel panicked. What was going on? Had he said something wrong? Did the Flurry leave him?

"Axel?" He couldn't stop the wave of fright in his voice. This time, he was immediately silenced by something pressed on his lips. A warning bell rang off in his head.

It's okay, Axel wouldn't hurt me, Roxas reasoned with himself. Regardless, he opened his eyes.

He found the red-head gazing at him intensely. The object that was on his mouth was simply the Flurry's fingers. Roxas was relieved that he wasn't alone, but something about being under observance made him want to squirm. Especially, he began to realize, because Axel was holding him incredibly close. He could feel breath grace his cheeks (cheeks that were growing red, most likely). He had never seen how many shades of green there were...

"Roxas?"

Seeing as his mouth was still covered, the blonde wondered how he was supposed to respond. Axel apparently had not forgotten about this, as he slipped his hand away.

"Are you angry with me?"

"Why would I be angry with you?" Why would he, really?

"Is that no?"

"No, I'm not angry, but—"

Abruptly, the Flurry pulled him forward and placed a brutally passionate kiss on his lips. It felt like forever.

But that wasn't enough.

When Axel pulled away, the blonde regarded him almost skeptically.

"Was that yes?"

"Yes."

Roxas wanted to approach the answer the same way; he wanted to engage in another kiss. Instead, he rested his head on his friend's shoulder and wept for a greater portion of the night.

--

"You say that Sora is undergoing some unexpected changes. Elaborate, please."

"Well, just the other night, I found strange readings on the chart. I thought for a moment that perhaps Roxas had found Sora, but when I looked in the data records, it said that Roxas had been here at the same time with Sora."

"That's impossible!"

"That's what I thought. So, I checked myself, and there was nothing out of the ordinary. It was just Sora there. I did some more thinking on it, though. The data reads mostly the physical aspect of the person. We deduced that if a person has a strong enough heart, they have a nobody form. Nobodies' don't actually exist, so the data would not pick that up. However, if the data managed to pick up Roxas and Sora merging at the same time..."

"You think perhaps the data confused the two and put down what it found the best it could."

"I'm not sure exactly what happened. I think they switched."

"Switched?"

"It couldn't have been long. The data sheets only note it for a few seconds. Either way, if Roxas had switched places with Sora, and yet Sora's body was still there, then the computer might have recorded them both at the same time."

"Possible. But you said the computer picks up mostly physical readings."

"It does, but we have just started experimenting with it. Perhaps it picks up things we aren't aware of yet?"

"Perhaps. I want to personally see these data records. But, what of Roxas's body during the switch, if it were to happen?"

"If you wish... Sora would have no place to go, seeing as Roxas's body simply does not exist. Instead, he would have been pushed aside during the transfer, unless he took control. Remember the heartless some time back, when it had infected Riku?"

--

He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. Axel would have given anything to have stayed with Roxas forever, but it seemed life simply didn't work that way. He had to content himself with observing his object of affection while he had time.

"Axel?" So maybe he wasn't asleep.

"Yes?"

"What do you think I should do now?"

"I don't know. Find Sora again, I guess."

"What about you?"

"What do you mean, what about me?"

"Are you going?"

"Going where?"

"With me."

"Do you want me to?"

"Yes. But not yet. I don't want to go yet."

"We'll go when you're ready."

"Sounds good."

He would never be ready.


End file.
